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Tom Reed,who previously covered the Blue Jackets for The Dispatch, is back after a five-year absence while working for the newspaper in that city up north: Cleveland. Follow him on Twitter at @treed1919

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Kesler A No-Go For Blue Jackets

Posted Jun 27, 2014
by Aaron Portzline

Ryan Kesler apparently has no interest in coming back to Columbus.

The Vancouver Canucks center, the subject of trade rumors for several months, has a relatively short list of teams to which he would approve a trade, and the Blue Jackets are not one of them. According to TSN reports, he's likely to be traded today, perhaps during the first found of the NHL draft.

The Blue Jackets acquired left wing Scott Hartnell from Philadelphia earlier in the week, but general manager Jarmo Kekalainen isn't stopping there in an attempt to bolster the club's top two lines.

It's believe the Blue Jackets made preliminary phone calls to Kesler's agent, Kurt Overhardt, in an attempt to convince Kesler to consider adding Columbus to his preferred list of destinations. He attended Ohio State in 2002-03 before turning pro.

Three teams reported to be on Kesler's approved list are Anaheim, Chicago and Pittsburgh.

Another top-tier center could be on the move this weekend, too.

Ottawa's Jason Spezza requested a trade earlier this summer. According to TSN, Spezza does not want to be traded to any team in a Canadian market, and he's also listed Columbus, Carolina, Florida and the New York Islanders as places to which he would not approve a trade.

This snub does not appear to offend the Blue Jackets. The feeling, sources said, is mutual.

If the Blue Jackets do acquire a top-6, or even a top-9 forward this weekend without trading a player off the roster, it will likely precipitate another trade to relieve a glut of forwards.

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